Maureen K. Fleury's Blog
Posted by Maureen K. Fleury
In a November 10th, 2009 news story by HRVOJE HRANJSKI of the The Associated Press, Mayon Volcano shot up an ash plume. Rocks and ash flew as high as one-half mile into the air.
There is glowing magma in the crater and volcanologists are keeping a very close eye on the activity and have a raised the alert level to extremely high.
Since the November 10th, officials have been broadcasting warnings over the radio to be prepared to evacuation. Farmers, tourists and sports enthusiasts have been banned from the slopes of Mayon. Residents have also been put on alert of possible evacuation.
The villages of Matnog and Banadero, located south of Mayon, have already been evacuated. These areas could be in the path of a pyroclastic flow if Mayon erupts.
Last week, the ash plume dusted the towns of Camalig, Guinobatan and Liago, which are located in the foothills southwest of Mayon.
Mount Mayon is certainly not dormant and anxious residents of the Philippines are preparing for the worst.
Posted by Maureen K. Fleury
Holmes on Homes originally started on HGTV Canada in 2001 and his popular series was eventually picked up in the US.
Starting October 1st, 2009, HGTV Canada will be airing the first episode of Holmes Inspection.
Based on the write-up at the HGTV website, Mike Holmes will go into homes where inspections had been made but serious flaws were missed. (It is customary to have a home inspection prior to purchasing a home). Mike and his crew will fix the problem.
It sounds like the same format as Holmes on Homes but instead of pointing out the terrible job of contractors, he will expose the misdeeds of home inspectors.
In the Fall 2009 season, there were no new episodes of Holmes on Homes but there was an excellent series where Mike went to New Orleans to rebuild homes that were flattened by Hurricane Katrina. I wonder if Pinky gets her job back.
One of his memorable US appearances was on the Ellen DeGeneres Show where she a mock marriage proposal to Mike Holmes. I don't get that one, considering Ellen's sexual preferences.
Mike Holmes continues to make things right for homeowners and shows that honesty, skill and integrity is the way to do business.
Holmes Inspection is bound to be another hit!
Posted by Maureen K. Fleury
After a successful run of The Unsellables on HGTV Canada, British real estate expert Sofie Allsop is returning to her homeland for her new show The Unsellables UK.
She has left her co-host and contractor Anthony Sayers in Canada and is teaming up with real estate expert, John Rennie.
I liked Anthony much better on The Unsellables than the defunct series Me, My House and I. I hope Anthony picks up another TV gig because he is too good to be off the air.
The Unsellables UK will follow the same format whereby Sofie transforms an unappealing home into a quick seller in the real estate market. John Rennie will concentrate on the real estate side of things by working with the homeowners and agents.
If the new show is as good as the original show, it's bound to be a hit! Sofie has a way of telling people in her sweet, soft voice what is wrong with their home. Her design remedies are sensible and not necessarily expensive.
The original Unsellables will continue to air on HGTV Canada on Sundays and Mondays, though not a prime time any more.
The first episode of The Unsellables UK starts Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 on HGTV Canada.
Posted by Maureen K. Fleury
The big news in the world of geology is the eruption of Mount Redoubt on the shores of Cook Inlet in Alaska.
I discovered this event by accident when I was looking at news stories for ideas on a new article. I came across a news flash that the Warning Code at Mount Redoubt had been escalated from yellow to orange. The article said that the mountain could erupt any time soon.
My research for the article on Mount Redoubt took me to the Alaska Volcano Observatory website where there were bulletins being issued every 15 minutes. From the time I saw the article at the news site and arrived at the AVO page, the Warning Code went to red and Mount Redoubt had erupted.
I stayed up most of the night finishing the article and looking for more bulletins from the Alaska Volcano Observatory. By the time I went to bed, there had been three eruptions. Two more eruptions occurred after that.
Yesterday (Monday), I was still going to the AVO site to look for updates. There was still some small eruptions and seismic activity but much more subdued. No lives were lost due to the eruption.
The cameras closest to the mountain stopped working after the explosion. One miraculously resumed broadcast the following day. The AVO did a fly over on Monday and posted more pictures. I wanted to share them with you.
I have posted 3 more pictures on my article, Eruption of Mount Redoubt, Alaska 2009.
I only have space for 5 pictures in the article so I posted additional pictures in this blog.
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Posted by Maureen K. Fleury
I always thought that lava spewing from volcanoes was the only way people were killed and property destroyed. I was very wrong.
After doing research on several of the world’s worst volcanoes, I changed my line of thinking. Many other events or by-products resulting from a volcanic eruption can be as fatal as lava.
Lahars are mudflows or landslides of volcanic ash mixed with water that flows down from a volcano. It has the consistency of concrete.
Pyroclastic flows contain hot ash, rock fragments and gases and can rush out of a volcano at speeds of over 100 mph. The gases, fragments and the heat can be fatal.
Volcanic landslides consist of ice, rocks or snow loosened by the vibration from the eruption.
I have written several articles on volcanoes and you can read more by clicking on the title of each volcano.
- Kilauea is the world’s most active volcano. It has been emitting lava for years and the area is monitored for air quality.
- Mount Tambora in Indonesia erupted in 1816 and it had eliminated summer in many parts of the world because of generating an ash cloud.
- Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines erupted in 1991. Pyroclastic flows spewed out of the mountain at 50 mph.
- Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980 and is well-remembered in North America. It generated the largest landslide ever produced from a volcano. Lahars ruined the river valleys in the area.
- Mount Pelee in the West Indies erupted in 1902. A pyroclastic flow of ash, rock and gas blasted down the mountain at 100 mph.
- Krakatoa in Indonesia erupted in 1883. Giant tsunamis and pyroclastic flows of toxic gases brought mass death and destruction to neighboring islands.
There are active volcanoes in the Andean Arc and Chaiten erupted in May 2008. There are other volcanoes in the arc that are steaming.
Will the next big explosion be here?
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